The Ten – Review

Reviews


credit: www.impawards.com

Director:

David Wain

Cast:

Paul Rudd. Jeff
Famke Janssen. Gretchen Reigert
Jessica Alba. Liz
Adam Brody. Stephen Montgomery
Winona Ryder. Kelly
Gretchen Mol. Gloria Jennings
Kerri Kenney. Bernice
Oliver Platt. Arnold
Justin Theroux. Jesus
A.D. Miles. Oliver
Liev Schreiber .Ray
Joe Lo Truglio. Paul
Ken Marino. Dr. Richie
Kevin Allison. Stanley
Michael Ian Black. Prison Guard Jamberg Saivon
Ben Garant. Himself
Thomas Lennon. Richie’s Friend
Michael Showalter. Police Lt. Flarn Bleern
David Wain. Richie’s Friend

Several years ago, David Wain (of The State and Stella fame) directed a film called Wet Hot American Summer. It didn’t create much of a splash in the theaters, but like most good films of its ilk, it found life in cult status on DVD. It seems that Wain’s latest theatrical venture will follow in that same vein.

What is The Ten? Think of it this way: Take Krzysztof Kieslowski’s The Decalogue, edit it down to an hour and a half and make it ridiculously, absurdly funny. Or another way to look at it, if you don’t get the aforementioned reference, is that it’s ten shorts each about one of the Ten Commandments. As someone who comes from a background of sketch comedy, Wain makes the shorts here work really well, for the most part. As one might guess some are better than others and one or two of them really aren’t anything to write home about.

There are several reasons The Ten works as a whole. The first is the fantastic cast. Wain and Co. pulled out all the stops and called in all their favors. As well featuring every original member of The State and many from Wet Hot, you also get Jessica Alba, Winona Ryder, Liev Schrieber and many many more. Not only are these people in the film but they play completely different characters than you’ve ever seem them play and in some cases would never expect them to play. David Wain seems to get the best out of everyone.

Several characters appear in more than one story giving the film more of a cohesive feel than just a bunch of shorts stuck together. Then to top that off we have the always-hilarious Paul Rudd introducing each short as well as letting us in on the troubles he’s having with his love life.

Since they’re shorts there isn’t much of a plot to talk about; however, there are some noteworthy moments to give you an idea of what this film is like. Ryder plays Kelly, a girl whose boyfriend accidentally jumps out of an airplane without a parachute. He survives but he’s embedded in the ground and if removed he’ll be killed. Kelly ends up leaving him for a news anchorman only to leave him for a ventriloquist’s dummy. This leads to an infamous sex scene that rivals the one in Team America.

Ken Marino, co-writer and producer, plays Dr. Glenn Richie, a practical joker. As “a goof” he leaves a pair of surgical scissors in a patient. As a result of this joke she dies and he goes to prison where he learns the meaning of being somebody’s bitch.

The Ten is not for everyone. It’s completely absurd, rude, vulgar and offensive. However, if you’re sick of all that boring, run of the mill schlock that Hollywood throws at you week after week do yourself a favor. Find a theater that’s playing this film and laugh yourself silly for an hour and a half. Don’t worry, God won’t judge you.

FINAL RATING (ON A SCALE OF 1-5 BUCKETS):

Mike Noyes received his Masters Degree in Film from the Academy of Art University, San Francisco. A few of his short films can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebnoyes. He recently published his first novel which you can buy here: https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Days-Years-Mike-Noyes-ebook/dp/B07D48NT6B/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528774538&sr=8-1&keywords=seven+days+seven+years